Somerset fight back on inebriating first day against Hampshire
Gregory, van der Merwe fill their boots after Barker’s six-wicket aperitif
David Hopps03-Jun-2021Spectators were finally back at Taunton and on World Cider Day they drank in a day’s cricket which was suitably inebriating. The return must have been as uplifting as they had hoped that it would be. There was little need to turn to the scrumpy when cricket as enterprising as this was perfectly capable of bringing a wonderfully warm and exaggerated feeling that all was well with the world.”I am a cider drinker… it soothes all me troubles away.” What cider claims in song, Somerset provided in sport – and have done all season, sometimes to their own detriment. They stumbled to 113 for 7 on a green wicket and then roused themselves with a transformative and vastly entertaining counter-attack from Lewis Gregory and Roelof van der Merwe that brought 171 in 35 overs.Gregory took a century from 135 balls, reaching it on the stroke of six o’clock with the floodlights on, as Kyle Abbott offered up a tired bouncer which he pulled emphatically through square leg for four. Twice dropped at slip, he had never wavered from his attacking intent. The 1,900 Somerset members allowed in stood to offer vigorous applause, even accompanied by those looking on from the retirement apartments alongside the ground and then rose again when Abbott, his energy almost spent, bowled him for 107 with the second new ball.Van der Merwe’s 81, from 132 balls, was also quite a contribution. It was his first innings of the summer, quite a warm-up for the T20 Blast to come, and his second-highest score for Somerset and he must also have had a century in mind when he surrendered his wicket, misjudging a single to extra cover and yards short when Brad Wheal’s throw hit direct.Where Gregory was crisp, van der Merwe was bullish. Hampshire took their punishment with growing pessimism. Gregory reflected later: At times it must have looked like we were trying to outdo one another for maverick shots and I think he had the edge over me.”This was the giddiest of stands, ambitions growing with every gulp of air, and drunk in by the most appreciative county crowd in the country who were more eager than ever to applaud every adventurous shot, even those that flew not quite where they had been intended. There can have been no more joyful Championship cricket all season. The day the crowds returned will be remembered with delight in Somerset for many years to come.This Somerset side delights and frustrates in equal measure. The entire side plays shots like there is no tomorrow which, considering the past few years, seems a decent philosophy to have. They were still smiting at No.11 as Marchant de Lange struck the long-suffering Abbott for successive, gigantic sixes, the first into St James’ churchyard, the second flying many a mile over square leg to the longest boundary.Somerset are maddening, yet lovable with it; talented yet flawed; a youthful side that takes years off the oldest spectators, encouraging bells to be rung and songs to be sung; a side that may not know much about Somerset’s history, but who perfectly reflect it. They need to see off Hampshire here to strengthen their hold on a top two spot in Group Two, and must do it with both Craig Overton and Jack Leach locked in England’s bio bubble on sanitiser-carrying duties.All this must have been galling for Keith Barker, Hampshire’s formidably-built left-arm seamer. His considerable craft and calm caused Somerset’s disarray, but it was reduced to nothing more than an aperitif. His new-ball spell of 4 for 7 in nine overs took full advantage of a green pitch and by the time Steve Davies became the seventh Somerset batter to fall, he had extended that to 6 for 27.Keith Barker left Somerset in early disarray•Getty ImagesBarker is in the second year of a two-year contract with Hampshire after ending a decade of service with Warwickshire. He is the most languid of new-ball bowlers, his approach smooth rather than dynamic. But on a responsive surface, with a new ball in his hand he can kill with kindness, and when he did not swing the ball back he angled it across the right-handers with precision. All this in vivid red socks, presumably warning of danger.By the time the first sanitising break came along after 25 minutes there had only been one scoring stroke. Davies, an emergency opener, was making a decent fist of it. But Barker smoothed his way through the batting order: left-handed Eddie Byrom bowled by one that left him; Tom Abell and James Hildreth edging balls angled across – Hildreth’s shouted “I’m an inswinger” throughout its path but still ended up in the hands of the keeper – and George Bartlett leaving an inswinger that presumably shouted nothing at all.Somerset fleetingly recovered through Davies and Tom Banton, who is batting as low as No. 7. Davies’s square drives were in trim, Banton, not one to be suppressed by the scoreboard, played with the confidence of a batter who knows T20 is around the corner. Barker’s second spell silenced them, Banton gated by a huge inswinger from around the wicket, Davies pushing disappointingly at an outswinger when looking in command.By the close things looked very different. Barker still had creditable figures of 6 for 72 but the support seamers had been inconsequential and Abbott, unbelievably for a bowler of his stature, had 1 for 132 in 24 overs. He may wake up stiff and bruised, too, after slipping and falling heavily in his delivery stride in the morning session.